Biovail buys Prestwick, gains CNS drugs

Canada's Biovail has bought out U.S.-based Prestwick Pharmaceuticals, which recently won FDA approval for Xenazine. The orphan drug is a treatment for chorea, which is associated with Huntington's disease. Biovail has paid $100 million to acquire Prestwick Pharmaceuticals along with related license rights. The company also gets other early-stage products, including Lisuride Sub Q (advanced Parkinson's disease), Lisuride Patch (Parkinson's disease) and D-Serine (schizophrenia). Ovation Pharmaceuticals announced separately that it had acquired rights to commercialize Xenazine in the United States.

The buyout is part of Biovail's recently-announced plan to focus on central nervous system drugs. The company is investing $600 million over the next four years for work on epilepsy, multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's. "The transaction meets all of our acquisition criteria, and represents Biovail's first commercial exposure to specialty markets in central nervous system, or CNS disorders. The acquisition is another important step in the implementation of our New Strategic Focus," said CEO Bill Wells.

- here's Biovail's release for more
- check out Ovation's release

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